Exceptions and Objections
by iviscrit
Summary: Kuvira doesn't take shit from anyone. Make an unsolicited comment about her booty and she'll make you regret it. But she does have an exception... Friendship!Baavira, Zaofu era. For saigneux. Loosely based off a true story.


_I picture her 18 here, and Junior is 19_

* * *

"Nice ass."

Before Kuvira realized it, her hand had whipped out to the side, striking the guard through his metal breastplate hard enough for him to stagger back and let out a gasp of pain. "Anything else you wanted to tell me?"

Han's behavior really hadn't changed in the weeks they'd worked together, but a combination of stressful deadlines and ill-timed dance practices had finally snapped her temper and forced her hand. He was a tall, barrel-chested young man that stood a good head taller than her, with a heavy set to his face that made him look older than the twenty-two she knew him to be. Han wasn't unattractive to look at, but the insufferable advances and repeated boasts of how many pushups he could do quickly made the sight of him reason enough to frown. Kuvira had dealt with the flirtation in silence, reluctant to start dramas within the security force over something as petty as a forced hug or a suggestive comment. She had expected difficulty to arise when she had joined it at age sixteen. It was as though formal adulthood suddenly awakened interest in her fellow guards.

"Your voice is sexy," he had told her one evening, while on patrol. "We should talk more."

"Thanks," she had said flatly. "I have a good reason to be completely silent now."

She had expected that to be the end of it, and for a while it seemed that it was. Han's attention was focused on Rin, a pretty girl who often was a featured soloist alongside Kuvira. She seemed to enjoy the attention, making Han's unwanted compliment that day particularly awkward. She felt newly uncomfortable in her dance practice attire, but the feel of his metal breastplate caving beneath her fist alleviated much of that discomfort.

He swore under his breath, returning the metal to its proper shape and pressing a hand to his chest. "I think that's going to bruise, damn it…I was just saying you do!"

Kuvira gestured sharply, causing the sides of his helmet to crunch together over his face. "I don't need to hear this." Kuvira hastened her pace as she walked back to the grounds of the Beifong estate, her armor bundled under her arm.

The air was fresh and cool against her hot face, and she closed her eyes as she leaned against a shade tree, slowly sinking to the ground. The rush of blood in her ears gradually subsided as she focused on her breath, slowly letting the anger drain away. Earth came alive to her as she planted her feet in the soft grass, her fingers probing the ground for a subterranean view of the lawn and her soles seeking out vibrations from passerby. She could feel the little burrows and tunnels made by little rodents, the reach of the roots that radiated out from the tree she sat beneath, and the footsteps of a newcomer. She thought she knew who it was, recognizing the gait, but kept her eyes closed and her brow unfurrowed, the perfect image of nonchalance in the grass.

"Kuvira!" Baatar's voice was always brimming with delight when he addressed her, and she allowed herself a peek.

"Hello," she said, patting the ground. "Join me."

He tucked the loose papers into the book he carried, setting them down before joining her under the tree. "You've been so busy, I feel like I haven't seen you properly in weeks," he said.

"That's because it's _been_ weeks," she said. "But tell me what's new, my stories are either boring or likely to make me angry all over again."

"There's nothing much to tell," he said, his expression thoughtful as the sun reflected off his glasses. "Dad and I started a new project, we're looking into a way to up the efficiency of the generators." He paused, seeing her frown. "You probably aren't interested."

"I'm interested," she said sharply. "The last words directed to me today were 'nice ass' so anything of substance sounds wonderful right now. Keep talking."

Baatar tried to hide a smile, leaning against the tree as she stretched out in the grass on her stomach. "Who said that?"

"One of the guards, Rin's… I don't know anymore," she said irritably, resting her head on her folded arms. "I punched him in the chest and shut his helmet over his thick head. I almost feel bad," she admitted. "I don't like resorting to violence, but he had it coming."

He was silent a minute longer, and she looked up as she felt his gaze. "Not to downplay how uncalled for that was… but maybe he was just trying to compliment you? And did it really badly?" He held up his hands defensively. "Maybe he just likes you. There's a lot to admire."

"Baatar, it was Han. Can we talk about the generators?"

"Oh." He nudged her. "Congratulations," he said, his voice teasing. "I thought you liked defined shoulders?"

"I don't like disgusting comments," she said. "Talk to me about something else. How are things with Suren? It's been what, three months?" Kuvira had long since suspected the girl's interest in Baatar, and after a dance practice she had managed to throw them together and flee the studio. He often asked her for girl advice once he and Suren had begun seeing one another, and she gave it freely; theirs had always been a close and open friendship.

"We really _haven't_ talked recently, have we?" he said, his voice taking on a forced nonchalance. "We… uh… we're not dating anymore."

Kuvira stared. "You mean you broke up?"

"Yes," Baatar said, raising his eyebrows. "What else could I mean?"

"Oh no," she said. "Baatar, I'm so sorry… are you all right? Do you need a hug? She made a mistake-"

"No, I'm fine, but thanks for assuming she broke up with me," he said. "I'm great. Really great, actually." He smiled at her, gently punching her shoulder. "It was becoming a time suck inside and outside the lab. Don't be upset about it on my behalf."

Kuvira frowned. "What happened? You both got along so well. You said you liked everything about her—"

"She wasn't very nice about it anyway," Baatar said, shrugging.

"So she _did_ break up with you," Kuvira said, grinning slyly. "I knew it."

"I don't know.. you'll say I'm awful, but I only went out with her because she asked me. I'd be lying if I said I was ever on the same page as her. That, and Wei and Wing wouldn't stop teasing me, so.." He laughed sheepishly, his cheeks reddening. "I'm not torn up about it."

She pursed her lips. "You complain about being single, and then you blithely tell me that you weren't really interested in a pretty girl who _really_ liked you."

"You're being unfair," he protested. "Heat transfer and the carnot cycle are easier to figure out than girls, Kuvira. You should know."

The sky somehow seemed more blue, the puffy clouds lazily drifting overhead and the soft grass tickling her feet. "I don't think so," she said. "At least we don't think that telling someone you barely know 'nice ass' is a compliment." She sat up, gracefully arching to the side as she stretched an arm over her head. "I need to go to practice."

Baatar stood, offering her a hand. "Do you mind if I watch?"

"When did you start asking permission to watch rehearsals?" she demanded, walking with him to the studio. "We might go for three hours today, with how Su scheduled the performances. That's not a time suck?"

"That's fine," he said, exchanging a quick hug before she joined the others on the floor. "I don't have too much to do today, now."

Kuvira gave him a parting smile before she joined the other girls, stretching while she waited for Su to arrive. The horizontal bar spanned the length of the room, and she propped a leg on it as she arched over it and to the side. The promise of exercise caused the remaining resentment towards Han to drain away, until she heard that phrase for the second time that day, this time while she was bent at the waist and gripping her ankles in a standing stretch.

"Nice ass," she heard Baatar say in a stage whisper. In an instant her metal cable was flying towards his face, and she stopped it at the last minute when he leapt back, his hands up in a self-defense.

"You— you little—" she sputtered, her anger draining away when she registered his apologetic grin. "Baatar, you monumental idiot. Take that back."

"I don't get a punch to the chest?"

She flexed her fingers. "It can be arranged. It's certainly deserved."

"No, I don't want one," he said, holding up his hands in surrender as she started towards him. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Why would you say that?" she demanded. "Everyone thought we had something going on, and now with you and Suren no longer—"

"Kuvira, I'm a scientist," he said, catching her hands and yelping in pain as she easily twisted out of his grip. "I run experiments all the time. This was just an experiment," he added, rubbing his wrists. "I wanted to see if you'd respond violently to any poor bastard that dares objectify you. I'm glad I'm the exception."

"You're an idiot and you're lucky you're my best friend," she retorted, "or that metal collar would be a noose by now." She turned and started back to the bar, lifting her leg to shoulder height and bringing her nose to her knee.

"Nice—"

Kuvira whipped around. "Don't you dare."

He grinned. "Form. I was going to say form!"

"Of course you were." She felt his eyes on her for the rest of the practice, but she didn't mind. Everything felt natural with Baatar, and she knew that no matter what he said, his friendship and respect for her was unwavering. She could handle a bit of light-hearted teasing from him, even if the topic would've earned anyone else a reprimand at best and a fist to the face at worst.

"Here," he said, tossing her a towel as she returned to him after practice concluded, out of breath and sweaty from the exertion. "You were great. Well… I mean, you always are great."

"Thanks," she said, wiping her face. "The recital's next weekend. I wasn't going to give you my guest ticket because I didn't want to step on Suren's toes, but if you're interested now—"

"Of course," he said, reddening. "Of course I am."

"Wonderful. So," she teased, "my performance was great, or I just had great form?"

"You can't expect me to not appreciate form like that when it's right in front of me," Baatar said, an odd emotion she couldn't decipher in his eyes. "But there's a lot more to your performances than good form, Kuvira. I know that."

"I know you do." Kuvira knew she had a habit of making exceptions for Baatar when she ordinarily would have objected. She didn't know why, but as he talked to her about the plans for the generators, his excitement at once endearing and contagious, she found she didn't need a real reason. He was her best friend, and that would always be more than enough.

* * *

**A/N: Friendship!Baavira. Somehow I doubt his end is just friendship though. ;)**


End file.
